Please don't buy that boat for any amount of money! Your time is worth way too much. A bad engine is one thing but everything on this boat is toast. Even the gauges are shot. You will have so much sweat and tears in this thing that you wouldn't want to stop anywhere short of perfection and that would cost soooooo much.

Thanks guys for all of the input! I grew up in Minnesota behind a malibu(Im sure this is a forbidden word on this site, she is still an awesome boat though, my Dads baby) Echelon, so yes, these inboards hold some sentimental value to me and this would be a labor of love.

MrMastercraft you are correct that the boat values are considerably higher out here, it costs a small fortune to ship something like this here, which is why its hard to believe how anyone could let this boat get so bad, with proper care these boats can run in salt water just fine, outboards are raw water cooled as well, they also need to be thoroughly flushed after every use.

So , I talked to the seller (who of course has 30 other people that want to look at the boat) today on the phone and let him know that I had seen and dug into it a little bit. From what we gathered, the boat has changed for the worse since he last saw it (i think the last time he saw it was when it was put where it sits now 2 years ago. So he said think about it and shoot him an offer. I told him I dont want to insult him by lowballing but I went through a quick list of the big stuff right away, engine $2000, who knows if the tranny is any good still (the prop spins with two hands) and what do those go for and can you even find them? trailer-i could get my friend to fab/weld a trailer to fit that I found for 1300, both side windshields are shot, they could stay in but they are cracked and look like crap, those are spendy even if you can find one, interior-even if I do as much as i can myself ill still probably be looking at 500 min. So well see what he says after he gets a chance to look at it. I think you guys make a good point though, offer him 500 while hes sitting there looking at this sad sight. The funny thing about Hawaii is, Boats are so expensive out here, you can hardly get a 8ft dingy for 500 clams, its nuts! If this boat was fixed up, running solid and looked presentable, original or not it could easily sell for 10k all day every day. So I still think it could be a fun project. I dont have a ton of money so it would be slower progress than some resto's ive seen here that seem to happen in a week... So the main thing is I guess it would be hard to lose money on it, especially if I do most of the work myself.
We will see what Mr. Seller has to say, hopefully in the next couple of days, Ill keep you guys posted.

Cloaked, no we do not have any freshwater lakes on oahu. We have massive waves though, fun double ups

Coz, lol sweet prop paint ya!! The barnicals come with it too! All that stuff is just cosmetic and should clean up nice with some patience and elbow grease!

Again, thanks so much guys for your thoughts, inspiration and knowledge! Hopefully we can bring this old salt back to life!

Investing your time is one thing, and I enjoyed investing MINE during my refurb (which, by the way, looked like a new boat polishing compared to what you are looking at here), but parts and equipment is entirely another. I personally don't think I would spend $500 on it, as much as I love to see re-animation as much as the next guy on this forum!
Whatever you do, good luck and post. But I'm with the others who suggest saving, buying off mainland, and shipping something used out there...you would be way ahead and enjoying being ON it as opposed to UNDER it.
Now you have at least $0.04 worth of advice!

Cloaked, no we do not have any freshwater lakes on oahu. We have massive waves though, fun double ups

Love it over there, been a couple times. 1st time we stayed in Waianae on the westside, a little rough around the edges there but beautiful, there were waves at Makaha and I go to surf. The second time around it wasn't very good but we did get some nice rights up at Kuilima point on the NS. What part of the island are you on?

I think at even 1000 it could potentially be a reasonable project. I know I sound crazy saying that. That is if it had a windshield. In my eyes that gonna the pain in the but part. Youd be surprised, that block may actually not be a gonner, the question is why it was parked and left alone???? An engine block is basically a peice of metal, and assuming you could free the pistons and there is oil in there, who knows? Id plan for a new motor.

Transmission is a velvet drive, Check fluid levels, if there is transmission fluid in there, and the transmission wasnt submerged, you may get away without having to replace the whole thing. Clutch pack, seals and main input shaft cause its probably pitted.

Whoever said the guages are shot is also probably wrong. I bet they work. The speedos probably dont, and youd have to go through all the wiring, but they look better than mine did. My speedos were gone, but so far every other gauge has worked. They'd be an easy clean up if thats the case.

With the hull, you may actually want to cut a section of the floor out and check if there is water underneath, I had water in mine from water standing in the boat. No big deal, dry it out and glass it back in.

Id say the biggest question is whether or not you are willing to enjoy the process. If not, then its not worth it if you get it for free. If you are ready to enjoy it then go for it! Take your time.